Excellent School and Care Center in Mathare

14/9 Excellent School and Care Center

Went to Excellent School and Care center in Mathare. This trip was mainly to reconnect after the summer. I also got the chance to see the improvements they made since last semester, partly with the money I helped to raise. Friends and relatives in sweden got together to raise some funds for the most basic things for the school and I was happy to find new, nice blackboards. All kids in grade 8 had also been given lecture chairs and were really happy. It inspired me to start thinking of the “christmas gift fund raiser” that I’m going to start soon.

I also bought 4 chairs in the streets of Mathare. I gave them to the teachers, so they can have a seat when they have their breaks.

I had a long talk with reverend George, who is the Principal and Founder of the school. We talked about future needs and what they had done since last time we met. I also got to reconnect with some of the 600 students of the school. It is really fantastic to be met with so much positive energy from the kids that doesn't even have pens and paper in class. I was glad to hand over the supplies I brought with me.

The Swedish Society

24/9 Swedish Society

The occasion was the yearly meeting for the board of the Swedish Society. It was combined with a security briefing and a small party for new and old swedes in Nairobi. Before the meeting, I helped my mom to design an invitation. 

During the evening I set up the grill, grilled hot dogs and sold them, snacks and various beverages to people mingling at the party. The money goes straight to charities chosen by the board in the end of the school year. We sold much more than expected and ran out of hot dogs quite early. One thing I learned: Don’t split the hot dog bread, even if they’re too big. We ended up with lots of bred and no hot dogs....

This is me and my friend Tim grilling hot dogs! 

Visiting the Nest

7/9 The Nest

Visiting “The nest”. The nest is an orphanage for small kids. Most of them do not have parents at all, but a few has parents (mothers) in prison. Most of the orphans are adopted, but Kenya law says that a child can not be adopted until it is 6 months old, so they need care until then. Many adoptions are international, but surprisingly many are also local. In Kenya you can adopt a child as a single parent, but for international adoptions you need two parents.

The plan with this activity is to make photo books of a few of the children, to give to their adopting parents to keep. This way the child will always have photos of were and with whom they spent their first months in life. I’ve heard that many adopted kids lack a sense of what there first home was like and I hope I can give them a part of their history to keep.

I met a few of the babies, there were five really small (3-6 months) and 16 that were around a year. I could not get started though, because the boss was not there and I want to be given permission before I start. The staff always need help with all the children, so I guess there is going to be a lot to do at The Nest!

CAS PLANNER FOR 2011-2013

ISK CAS PROGRAM

PLANNER (APPROVAL REQUIRED)

                     2011 - 2012

Creativity/service

Photo books
Produce photobooks to the children at “The Nest”. This is a way of documenting the childs first time in life, living at the orphanage. This could be a valuable resource for that child growing up with its adoptive parents in its new home country.

Goal: to photograph, design and print 2 books for two children

Start date: 1/9-11        Finish date: 22/12-11  Supervisor: Marie Candel

Activity

Taekwondo
Martial arts is something I don’t know anything about and never been interested in. However, I have some notion about that it combines fitness, flexibility and self-defense with mental strength. I have chosen Taekwondo, the “way of the foot” to gain all the advantages listed above.

Goal: grade for blue belt (belt no 4).

Start date 21/8-11        Finish date: 1/6-13    Supervisor: Maxwel Omondi

Football
After recently starting to play football, I would like to develop into a better player that has a chance to make the Varsity team next year.

Start date: 22/8-11        Finish date: 22/11-11 Supervisor: Philip Lotze


Service/Creativity

Excellent school in Mathare. I have previously had a commitment to the school in Mathare and been engaged in various activities. This year I have a few goals in mind:

Fundraising
By designing christmas cards and birthday cards to send to people that makes a contribution to the school.

Marketing
to market the cards and the school for fundraising (mainly by social media to friends and relatives in Sweden).

Fundraising for various needs in the school (for example: toilet paper, light bulbs, desks and blackboards).

Inspiration
Inspire the kids by visiting them and talk to them, mainly about how important it is for them to stay in school).


Start date 15/9 -11    Finish date:     1/6-13        Supervisor: Reverend George Ochieng (principal)

Goal: To help and inspire children in grade 1 to grade 8. To discuss various questions and share knowledge with children in grade 9-10. To develop as an empathic person with an insight in the lives of students in the slum. To stay connected with my relatives and peers in Sweden and inspire them to give money to charity. To report back to Sweden the outcome of their giving.


Service (teamwork)

The Swedish society in Kenya
To stay connected with the Swedish community I plan to help the board out with the events planned by the Swedish Association. To sell food at meetings, Christmas market, Easter herring lunch, the celebration of May 1st and Midsummer (all major Swedish traditional holidays).

Apply for funds.
The money earned by the Swedish Association goes directly to charity in Kenya. As a Swede, I’m eligible to apply for funds once a year and report back with images and an essay how the money is spent. Of course I’m applying for funds for the school in Mathare.

Goal: To be connected to the Swedish community in Kenya and to raise funds that I later can apply for to my charity projects.

Start date 15/9 -11    Finish date:     1/6-13        Supervisor: Åsa de Bruin (board member)




Service

MUN (Model United Nations).
To participate in MUN in school and help address the world’s problems in the same manner the actual United Nations does.

Goal: To learn from both the form (formal discussions in the general assembly, and committees and the creation of proposals, resolution and treaties) and about the issues discussed and develop into a confident, risk-taking students who already share a global perspective on these issues.

Start date: 1/9-11            Finish date: 1/6-13        Supervisor: Ms Nicols

Model United Nations

1/9 Model United Nations. 

My first MUN session started today. It was a bit confusing and chaotic, but I’m sure it’s going to be a very interesting and educating experience.

Football Tournament

13/9
Meeting RVA away. It is a long trip to Rift Valley Academy, but we had a good feeling. We won 4-1 and their goal was a penalty. A happy and strong team went back to ISK.
15/9
Meeting Premiere at home. It feels good to play at the ISK field. I was benched most part of the game, but ended up playing a few minutes in the end.
26/9
After spending last week in London on the Drama trip, I had a lot of studies to catch up on and I didn't play one minute of the game! Felt bad and sad when I got home, finding my math tutor waiting. Just wasted lots of study time on the bench. I was in a horrible mood and my dad made me go to bed! I have to work on not feeling so bad when I don't get to play.

Meeting Rosslyn

I was really happy to learn that I made the JV team this year! Practice started immediately after the try-outs and we even met Rosslyn as the first game of the season. It was on their home court and I have to say that this was not a day to remember for any of the teams, but that's the way life is! We lost 6-3 and were very disappointed! Maybe the ambitions are higher than they should be after these though tryouts?